LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Pulled Lower With Oil Prices, Queen's Speech In Focus
June 21 2017 - 4:46AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Whitbread same-store sales rise
U.K. stocks slipped Wednesday, with energy shares lower as oil
prices fell further into a bear market, and investors waiting to
hear the government's agenda even as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa
May has yet to secure support for her hobbled Conservative
Party.
The FTSE 100 gave up 0.2% to 7,458.28, with financial, oil and
gas and consumer-goods shares lower. But the consumer-services,
basic materials and utilities group were trading higher.
Oil woes: Back in focus are oil prices which continued to fall
after they slid into a bear market on Tuesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-hovers-at-seven-month-low-as-investors-weigh-up-supply-issues-2017-06-20).
That weighed on shares of oil producer Royal Dutch Shell PLC
(RDSB.LN) (RDSB.LN) and BP PLC (BP.LN)(BP.LN) , which lost 0.7% and
0.3% on Wednesday, respectively. Energy shares have a hefty
weighting of roughly 14% on the FTSE 100, according to FactSet
data.
Worries are still lingering about oversupply in the global oil
market after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
and other major oil producers in May agreed to extend production
limits into the first quarter of 2018. An recent increase in supply
by Libya was a factor in hurting oil prices.
A weekly supply update from the Energy Information
Administration is due at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time Wednesday.
Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expect the EIA to report a
fall of 2 million barrels in crude inventories. Late Tuesday, the
American Petroleum Institute reported a weekly decline of 2.7
million barrels in U.S. crude supplies
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/api-data-show-a-weekly-decline-in-us-crude-supply-sources-say-2017-06-20).
Parliamentary power struggle: The pound dropped below $1.26
before the formal opening of parliament. Queen Elizabeth II will
set out the government's agenda in a speech, but that comes even as
the Conservatives are still scrambling to work out a support deal
with the Democratic Unionist Party from Northern Ireland.
(https://twitter.com/skydavidblevins/status/877178095744282626)
"The legislation set out in the speech will include the Great
Repeal Bill, which converts European Union law into U.K. law and a
host of other Brexit-related legislation. But beyond that, the
Conservatives' failure to win a majority in this month's election
means expectations for new policy initiatives are very low," wrote
RBC's chief currency strategist Adam Cole.
Coverage of the Queen's Speech will begin at 11:15 a.m. London
time
(http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2017/june/state-opening-of-parliament-2017/),
or 6:15 a.m. Eastern Time.
Sterling bought $1.2593, down from $1.2629 late Tuesday in New
York.
Stock movers: Whitbread PLC shares (WTB.LN) sprang up 5.1% as
the parent company of Costa Coffee and the Premier Inn hotels chain
posted a rise of 2.9% in fiscal first-quarter comparable sales
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whitbread-quarterly-same-store-sales-rise-2017-06-21).
Total sales rose 7.6%.
Centrica PLC (CNA.LN) rose 2.4% after the gas and electricity
supplier reached a deal to sell two gas power stations in England
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/centrica-sells-2-power-stations-in-uk-2017-06-21)
for GBP318 million ($400.7 million) in cash.
Berkeley Group Holdings PLC (BKG.LN) moved up 2.3% as the home
builder posted a rise of 53% in fiscal year pretax profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/berkeley-yearly-pretax-profit-increases-53-2017-06-21)
as it sold more homes at higher prices.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 21, 2017 04:31 ET (08:31 GMT)
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